Simple
by Megz
Summary: An accident occurs which forces one of the gang to leave.


This is gonna be weird - but a good weird. I hope. This is a dramatic fic, so I hope you enjoy. Please review, with whatever comments you may have. By the way "dumb" or "huh?" are not real reviews. :)  
  
SIMPLE  
By Megz  
  
Life was simple. Chandler was flicking through channels on the TV in his and Monica's apartment. He sighed, bored, and decided to watch the news. Monica, Phoebe and Ross entered.   
"Hey honey," Monica said as she took off her jacket and walked over to the couch.  
"Hey," he replied.  
Phoebe sat down next to Chandler. "What are you watching?"  
"The news, it's 6:05, nothing else in on."   
Phoebe scrunched up her nose, "Well obviously you don't get PFC."  
"KFC? Like the chicken?" Monica asked.  
"No PFC, Psychic Friends Channel." Phoebe said, as if it was obvious.  
Ross looked in the fridge, "Speaking of which, do you guys want to go get some KFC?"  
"Oh my god," Monica said, turning up the volume of the TV. "Look."  
The other three sat silently as the TV showed them images of a building that had collapsed in Oregon. The news caster calmly stated "Today, tragedy occurred in Portland, Oregon. Over a forty people died when an lawyers offices complex collapsed. This is a rare occurrence and experts are trying to understand how this could of happened."   
Ross sat down on the couch next to Monica, "Doesn't our cousin Linda and her husband live in Portland?"  
Monica nodded.  
"What do they do again?" Chandler casually asked.  
Monica went white with realization. "They're lawyers."  
Ross looked at her, "Wait, you don't think-?" Monica's eyes filled with fear.  
  
When Rachel and Joey came over four hours later, Chandler was on the phone. Monica was sitting on the couch close to tears, Phoebe was comforting her and Ross was sitting alone next to the window.   
"What's going on?" Rachel asked, concerned. No one answered.  
"Guys?" Worried, Joey persisted. "Is everything okay?"  
Ross stood up and walked over to them, "Me and Monica's cousin died this afternoon. And her husband." Rachel and Joey looked genuinely concerned.  
"Oh my god," Rachel said quietly.  
"It gets worse," commented Phoebe.  
Ross looked at Phoebe, then back at Joey and Rachel, who were still standing in the doorway. "They have a three year old son. Dayton." Rachel sat down.   
Chandler spoke into the phone, "Yes, Jack, I can tell her. I'm so sorry. I know. Thank you. Bye." He hung up the phone and walked straight over to the couch and sat next to Monica. He put his hand on her knee.  
"Mon?" he said quietly. She looked at him with big eyes. "It looks as if Linda and her husband, Kevin, didn't have any living immediate family," he glanced at the rest of his friends, all looking confused and sad. "your dad seems to think Linda has you as the guardian of her son in her Will."  
Monica almost passed out, "Are you serious? We can't have a three year old." Worried glances passed through the rest of the gang.   
Chandler faked a smile, "We don't." He paused. "Your dad says the lawyer should call in the morning. Maybe we should go to bed now."  
  
Monica and Chandler sat, arms entangled, Monica leaning against Chandler on the couch, silent. It was 10:30 the next morning and no one had called them. They didn't sleep at all that night. Monica was saddened by the fact her cousin had been killed, and that her cousin's son had been orphaned. Monica also didn't want to be responsible for a three year old she'd never met.  
Chandler brushed Monica's hair out of her face, "This is weird."  
Monica replied, "It is." The room was silent again. "I always thought when I raised a kid, it'd be mine" she paused, "and yours."  
Chandler said, "So will they just ship this kid to New York and we'll be faced with being parents?"  
Monica closed her eyes and shook her head, "No. We'll have to go there, the kid lives there. Not here."  
Chandler leaned up, "I can't move to Portland. I can't just quit my job and move."  
Monica glared at him, "I will have to. And if you can't then I still have to."  
"But, Mon," Chandler started, "We're getting married."  
Monica started to cry, "I know."  
Chandler held Monica tighter. "So if the phone rings and they tell you that you are the guardian of a three year old, then, you and me aren't getting married. And if they say you aren't the guardian, then I get to keep you?"  
Monica nodded, "That's right." The phone rang. Monica picked it up, and when she was finished talking she turned to Chandler.  
"What's the verdict?"  
"I'm moving to Portland." She whispered.  
  
Rachel and Monica were taking things out of the closet and moving them into boxes.   
Rachel turned to Monica, "You could always bring Dayton here."  
Monica looked at Rachel with her cried out eyes. "I could, but the kid is growing up there. I can't just move a three year old across the country."  
Rachel touched Monica's arm. "What about Chandler?"   
Monica's eyes welled up with tears. "He has to stay here." She paused. "And that's killing me inside."  
Joey knocked on the door and entered. "Is it okay if I come in?"   
Monica nodded, as Rachel put her arm around her.  
"Mon, Chandler wants to talk to you on the balcony."  
Monica wiped her eyes, took a deep breath and walked out of the room. Rachel started to cry, and Joey sat on the bed with her and hugged her. "Joey, Monica's leaving." Joey was silent.  
  
Monica stood on the balcony, and Chandler turned to look at her. His eyes were just as red as hers. "I love you." She softly said.  
Chandler held her arms, "I know."  
"I wish this didn't have to happen." Monica said.  
"I know." He responded.  
Monica put her arms around him, "I wish I could keep you."  
He nodded, "I know." He paused and just looked at her for a moment. "I wish I could come."  
She smiled weakly, "I know."  
  
At the airport, Rachel held Monica as if she never was going to let go. "Call us, and tell us how you are every single day."  
Monica smiled, "Don't you think that'll cost a lot?"  
Rachel's face was stained with tears, "I will call you every day then. And I'll come visit lots."  
Monica leaned in and whispered, "Can you bring Chandler with you?"  
Rachel whispered back, "Monica, I think he'll come on his own." Rachel stepped aside as Phoebe and Joey walked up to Monica. Joey and Phoebe hugged her and said good bye.   
Chandler walked up to Monica and the two just looked at each other for a moment. "I'm coming to visit in three weeks." He said.  
Monica smiled, "I can't wait."  
Chandler hugged her, "I already miss you."  
She buried her face in his shoulder, "I'll miss you too."   
Chandler released her and said, "So, what happens to us?"  
Monica locked into his eyes, "I don't know."  
"Are we still engaged?" Monica released the gaze and slid the ring off her finger. She handed it to him. "Keep it on hold, okay?"  
He handed it back to her, "You keep it." She held it in her hand and kissed him. Then, after waving good-bye, her and Ross got on the plane. Ross was taking her, so he could go to the funeral then stay with her until she was settled. She knew she would never be settled.  
  
Two days later, Chandler sat in Joey's recliner. He was wearing sweat pants and surrounded by Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe.  
Phoebe flipped through the TV Guide, she smiled, "Hey, guys, it's phone-in readings on PFC." Rachel and Joey looked at each other.   
"PFC?" Rachel asked.   
Chandler smiled. "Maybe they can tell me whether me and Monica will ever be together again."  
Phoebe laughed, "Oh I can tell you that." Rachel, Joey, and Chandler looked at her expectantly. "Oh, you want me to tell you?"   
"Yeah," they said in unison.  
"Well of course," Phoebe said. "Chandler's going to move to Portland.  
"Uh, no I'm not, Pheebs." Chandler responded quickly.  
"Of course you are," she said matter-of-factly. "You'll spend a week or so sulking here, and then you'll jump on plane, realizing you made a mistake."  
Chandler smiled, "No, I'm staying here forever, Pheebs." He got up and walked towards the fridge. "Well, except when I go visit." He busied himself in the fridge.   
Phoebe turned to Rachel and Joey and said hushed, "No he won't."  
  
Phoebe was partially right. It was three months later, and Chandler was packing stuff in the living room. He hadn't called Monica yet, but he knew she wanted him to come. He had quit his job. He missed Monica so much it hurt him, his heart broke ever day he woke up and knew she was far across the country. He smiled as he packed, and picked up some things off the table. Realizing he was missing something out of the bedroom he went into the bedroom he once shared with Monica.  
Monica entered the apartment, the door was unlocked, and she was carrying three heavy bags. Chandler, still in the bedroom heard the door open and close. He figured it was Joey and Ross coming by with some more boxes.  
"In here, guys, I'll be out in a second."  
Monica froze, then melted at the sound of Chandler's voice. She was home.   
Chandler exited the bedroom and almost collapsed when he saw Monica in the doorway.   
She dropped her bags. Her eyes filled with tears, then she noticed all the boxes. "Moving?" she asked.  
Chandler walked towards her, "I was moving to Portland, I've got this fiancé there. And I can't live without her." He put his arms around her.  
"Well, your fiancé has come home. Forever."  
"What?" He was confused.  
She kissed him, and said, "It turns out Linda's husband, Kevin, was Dayton's step dad. And he visited annually with his real dad." She held the lock with Chandler's eyes. "Dayton's real dad came forward last month, and now, Dayton is happier three year old, living with his dad, his dad's new wife, and Dayton's half sister."   
Chandler was overcome with emotion, but still he said, "Sounds kinda like a soap opera."  
She looked sad, "I really liked that kid, but he wasn't mine." She pulled Chandler closer. "You are mine."  
Chandler kissed her forehead, "Do I get to keep you?"  
"You were really going to move to Portland to be with me?" She asked.  
"I couldn't live without you." He said, as Rachel, Phoebe, Ross and Joey entered the apartment. They stopped as soon as they saw Monica.   
"Mon?" Phoebe said.  
"I'm home, guys." She said as they crowded around and hugged her.  
"What about Dayton?" Ross asked. Monica told them what she told Chandler just moments before.   
"And I'm getting married." Everyone except Chandler and Monica froze.  
"To who?" Rachel asked, her eyes huge with fear.  
Monica looked at them and laughed. "Duh, to Chandler."  
"Oh." They all said, and they sighed with relief.  
Joey opened the door, "Want to go get some coffee?"  
"Sure," Monica said and put her arm around Chandler. Their lives were simple, once again.  



End file.
